Earnings Fall Short at Wal-Mart's Mexico Unit

Mexico's top retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico reported worse-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Monday, adding to the woes of the company after news emerged that it is being investigated for possible bribery.

Walmex shares fell 12 percent after a New York Times report this weekend that said parent company Wal-Mart Stores stymied an internal investigation into allegations of bribery at Walmex instead of broadening the probe.

The company, in which Wal-Mart has a majority stake, said first-quarter earnings rose 4.7 percent to 4.712 billion pesos ($368 million) from 4.502 billion pesos.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the company to report a profit of 5.14 billion pesos in the first quarter.

Still, revenue rose 14 percent to 96.901 billion pesos from 84.95 billion pesos in the year-earlier quarter, helped by a broader pickup in consumer spending as well as aggressive promotions that boosted sales.

Wal-Mart said in a weekend statement it had disclosed its bribery probe to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.